90 Years Ago
Items taken from the Sun of October 27, 1921
To make sure of Governor Preus being here to give the principal address of the celebration, the formal opening of the new Stevens County Memorial armory has been changed from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10. Governor Preus may be in Washington the first of...
Morris, 56267

Morris Minnesota 607 Pacific Avenue 56267

2013-01-28 11:51:48

90 Years Ago

Items taken from the Sun of October 27, 1921

To make sure of Governor Preus being here to give the principal address of the celebration, the formal opening of the new Stevens County Memorial armory has been changed from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10. Governor Preus may be in Washington the first of the month to attend a conference of governors and there was a fear that he might not return in time to come to Morris for the eighth while he is sure to be here by the tenth. A large number from all parts of the county and several delegations from national guard units in nearby cities are expected to attend the celebration. It is to be a military ball with the officers and men of Company K and of the American Legion in uniform, but those in charge of the affair say that formality is not going to be allowed to detract in the least from anyone's good time.

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More than 100 persons are to take part in the pageant, "The Red Cross in Peace," which will be given at the Orpheum Theatre both afternoon and evening of Nov. 8. This date has been selected since the formal opening of the armory was postponed until Nov. 10. With the large number who take part elaborately costumed, the pageant with splendid stage settings will tell the story of the great work of the Red Cross since the World War. It moves easily from a prologue of the organization of this society through its work at home and on the battle field to the great theme of Red Cross work in peace time in the bustle of the reclamation period. This is given less consideration and in many cases is little understood. Mrs. Paul Spooner is general chairman of the pageant.

A visitors' day when parents and friends of the young ladies at the farm school will be invited to see the practical work of the students will be held next Saturday. A broadcast invitation also has been issued for all the women of Morris to be the guests of the school girls on that day.

Work on the new sewer on Columbia Avenue has progressed into the third block. It is being built from First Street to Fifth Street below the surfaces to get the proper grade.

50 Years Ago

Items taken from the Sun of September 26, 1961

The West Central School of Agriculture begins the 1961-62 school term with an expected enrollment of between 70 and 80 students, announces Ralph E. Smith, acting superintendent. Classes will begin Tuesday morning, Sept. 26. With the second year of the phase-out of the School of Agriculture secondary level of instruction in process, only two classes remain-Junior and Senior. The holdover teaching assignments are as follows: Miss Nanna Jelstrup- Mathematics; Mrs. Fern Johnson - Home Economics; Mrs. Thelma Gilbert - Rural Sociology and English; Harley Hanke - Animal Husbandry; Leslie Lindor - Engineering; Wesley Gray- History and Economics; Roy Thompson - Chemistry and Agronomy; and Ralph Smith - Farm Management. Ralph Williams will continue to take care of the music department for the School of Agriculture students.

Proposed construction of a club house at the new sportsmen's area east of the city that is presently being developed by the Morris 9-F Sportsmen's club will be a major topic for discussion at the regular meeting of the club this evening in the American Legion club rooms. The proposed club house would be erected on the 55-acre tract recently purchased by the club and on which they recently opened a new trap range.

Come Thursday afternoon one the the Morris High School beauties will be crowned Homecoming Queen and will reign over the Tiger school's homecoming festivities Thursday evening and Friday afternoon and evening. This year's contestants are Sharon Heath, Sandra Holmen and Pam Cruze.

A brand new class of freshmen, with "UMM-65" on their freshman caps, attended their first classes at the University of Minnesota, Morris on Monday as UMM opened its doors for its second year of operation. The UMM enrollment is reportedly well in excess of 400 sophomores and freshmen, compared to the total of 238 freshmen who enrolled in September a year ago when the new college opened for its first year of operation. With nearly 80 students also starting the new school year this week at the secondary-level West Central School of Agriculture, there are approximately 500 students on the University's campus at Morris.

Formal cornerstone laying ceremonies at the new Zion Lutheran church in Elles University Addition were conducted just prior to the regular Sunday worship services in the church. The Rev. Carl Wirth is pictured officiating at the cornerstone ceremonies. Cliff Ogdahl, representing Les Ogdahl, building contractor and Melvin Thielke of the congregation were present for the ceremony. Formal dedication services for the new Zion Lutheran church home will be conducted Sunday, Oct. 1.

25 Years Ago

Items taken from the Tribune of September 25, 1986

The financial picture for the Morris-Donnelly School District is pretty good, according to Ray Morris, who did the audit of the 1985-86 school year, and Fred Switzer, superintendent. Switzer said he had anticipated that the District would end the budget year in the red, but instead ended about $2600 in the black. Switzer said the financial picture is "stable", and the District is in good shape. He said the balance would be larger at the end of this school year due to increases in state aids, the number of teachers who retired, and savings on administrative costs.

Wayne (Pete) Bright has been appointed to the Cyrus School Board, Superintendent Fred Switzer announces. Bright will fill the vacancy on the Board that was created by the death of Mrs. Betty Anderson. Mrs. Anderson passed away earlier this month. At next spring's school board election, someone will be elected to fill the one year remaining in that term.

Janet G. Olsen, a six-year postal employee, will be sworn in as Postmaster at the Donnelly Post Office on Sept. 26. Jack Hutchinson, Postmaster in Morris, will administer the oath of office. Olsen most recently has served as a part-time clerk/carrier in Morris. She joined the Postal Service as a Distribution Clerk in Morris, and has served an 11-month term as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) in Hancock. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Minnesota, Morris, where she majored in elementary education and minored in English and History.

Connie Johnson-Schaefer, daughter of Conrad and Freda Johnson of Morris, received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Texas Sept. 12. She is presently employed at S.W. Memorial Hospital in Houston, Texas.

The Kongsvinger Lutheran Church of rural Donnelly will commemorate its 110th anniversary with a day of celebration on Sunday, Oct. 5. Everyone is welcome. No special invitations have been sent. All former sons and daughters of the congregation are invited to attend. The congregation's first step toward the organization of settled worship was taken on Sept. 20, 1876.

10 Years Ago

Items taken from the Sun Tribune of July 26, 2001

Thirty years ago, the citizens of the Morris area celebrated their 100th birthday with a huge centennial event that ran from Sunday, July 11 through Saturday, July 17, and concluded with the burying of a time capsule. Pictures showed the time capsule being buried in back of the courthouse. The photographs show the inscription of the capsule stating "...to be opened July 17, 200l." The items inside the capsule were in perfect condition, but not what we expected. We expected the usual assortment of newspaper clippings describing events and conditions of the Morris area in 1971. Instead there were 78 sealed envelopes, most of them addressed to specific people. This was a surprise and presented a dilemma, because these envelopes obviously were not intended to be opened and viewed by the general public, which was the original plan for displaying the contents of the time capsule after the Prairie Pioneer parade. The 10 sealed envelopes that were not addressed to specific people contained flyers, announcements and plans of various events, and samples of letters to various groups. If you wrote a letter to someone, or think you may have a letter written to you, please stop at the museum (or call the museum) to claim it. I (Ward Voorhees) want to thank Chuck Dingman (Brown Wilbert Vault Company) and Duane Hebert (Stevens County Coordinator) for all of their work in locating and exhuming the 1971 Morris Area Centennial Time Capsule that was displayed during Prairie Pioneer Days.

A buyout of a major Morris manufacturing company is in the works, and the City of Morris hopes to provide more than half a million dollars in financing for the deal. An unnamed group of investors is negotiating to purchase the assets of Kleespie Tank and Petroleum Equipment, City Manager Ed Larson told the Morris City Council Tuesday. As part of the financing package, the buyers are seeking $600,000 in low-interest loans from the City. Earlier this month, the City Council agreed, in principle, to lend the Kleespie investor group $100,000 from the city's economic development loan fund. On Tuesday, following a public hearing, the City Council also agreed to apply for a $500,000 Minnesota Investment Fund Grant from the Department of Trade and Economic Development. If the grant is awarded, the City would lend the money to the Kleespie buyers. Principal and interest payments would become part of the City's revolving loan fund, Larson said.